- Last November, Gotabaya Rajapaksa was elected President and now elder brother Mahinda leads SLPP to ‘super majority’ in parliamentary election
- Mahinda Rajapaksa received over 500,000 votes, the highest number of votes in history of elections in Sri Lanka
- Four members of the Rajapaksa family in Cabinet
COLOMBO: Mahinda Rajapaksa was sworn in as Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister for the fourth time on August 9, days after after his coalition, the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP or Sri Lanka People’s Front) recorded a landslide victory in the general election, securing two-thirds of the seats or a ‘super majority’ in Parliament, paving the way for changes to be made to the Constitution.
n a 225-member Parliament, the SLPP won 145 seats, securing a total of 150 with its allies. It won all but four of the 22 electoral districts on offer, polling 6.8 million votes (59.09 per cent). Under Sri Lanka’s system of proportional representation, 196 members are directly elected to parliament while 29 are named from a national list according to the number of votes received by each party or independent group. In the run up to the parliamentary election, Mahinda Rajapaksa campaigned for 150 seats to be able to execute constitutional changes.The 74-year-old Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa thanked the Sri Lankan people for putting their faith in the SLPP and said that the country will not stand disappointed during its tenure.
‘Heartfelt gratitude to all Sri Lankans for placing their trust in President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, myself and the PodujanaParty and voting for the ‘Saubhagye Dakkama’ election manifesto in overwhelming numbers. We will ensure Sri Lanka will not stand disappointed during our tenure,’ he said.
Mahinda created a record in polling over 500,000 individual preference votes from Kurunegala, the highest ever recorded by a candidate in the history of elections in Sri Lanka. Rajapaksa’s son Namal, also won, receiving the highest number of votes from the family bastion of Hambantota.
The Rajapaksa family has dominated Sri Lankan politics for two decades. Mahinda was previously president, from 2005 to 2015. Younger brother President Gotabaya Rajapaksa had won the November presidential election on the SLPP ticket.
Meanwhile, the biggest casualty from the election outcome was the United National Party (UNP) of former prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, which suffered a historic defeat, managing to win only one seat and that too came by way of a bonus, thanks to the cumulative votes polled nationally. The country’s grand old party failed to win a single seat from any of the 22 districts. Its leader and four-time prime minister was unseated for the first time since he entered Parliament in 1977, failing to win even his own ‘safe’ seat from the Colombo district, as his party finished fourth in most constituencies. The UNP only polled 249,435 votes or just two per cent of the total votes and was relegated to the fifth position nationally.
Wickremesinghe’s former deputy and presidential candidate Sajith Premadasa, who had broken away from the UNP to form his own party Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB), or the United People’s Force, did extremely well by winning 54 seats. The SJB parted from the UNP after they failed to urge Wickremesinghe to cede the leadership to Premadasa, the son of slain President Ranasinghe Premadasa. The SJB has polled a total of 2.7 million (23 per cent) votes, emerging as the second largest party, according to the results. The main Tamil party, Tamil National Alliance, did not fare well as their parliamentary representation saw a reduction for a total of 10 seats from 16 it had won the last time. The party managed to win three districts in the Tamil-dominated North and polled 327,168 votes (2.82 per cent), the results showed. The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), despite winning only three seats from their six in the previous election, retained its position as the third force in the country by pushing the former ruling party UNP to the fourth and in many areas to even fifth and sixth places. It polled 445,958 (3.84 per cent) of the total votes.
SLPP founder, National Organiser and strategist Basil Rajapaksa — who is the younger brother of President Gotabaya – had correctly forecast the one-sided election results but no one in the party had expected a tsunami to hit the opposition. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa dissolved Parliament in March and called for early snap elections. He said during campaigning that a victory would strengthen his resolve to develop the economy, which has taken a heavy beating during the Corvid-19 pandemic. Sri Lanka has had relative success in containing its coronavirus outbreak, due to early lockdowns and widespread testing. The August 5 election, originally scheduled for April, was postponed twice because of the virus.
Mahinda Rajapaksa, the two-time former President, was voted out of office in 2015. Considered a military hero among supporters, the 74-year-old was first elected President in 2005 and returned to office in 2010, a year after government forces routed the LTTE to end the country’s brutal 25-year ethnic war. Gotabaya Rajapaksa, also seen as a military hero among many, served as his defense secretary and oversaw the operation that ended the civil war in the country. The election was the country’s first parliamentary poll since the deadly terror attacks in April 2019, when a series of bombs ripped through churches and hotels in Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday, killing at least 290 people and injuring hundreds.
Mahinda Rajapaksa was sworn-in as the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka for the fourth time, before President Gotabaya Rajapaksa at Kelaniya Raja Maha Vihara in August 9 and the new Cabinet was sworn in on August 12. The cabinet members took oaths in the presence of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa at the Magul Maduwa (Audience Hall) of the historic Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic premises in Kandy.
The Cabinet includes four Rajapaksas, the President (Defence), the Prime Minister (Finance, Buddha Sasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs and Urban Development and Housing), Chamal Rajapaksa (Irrigation) and Namal Rajapaksa (Youth Affairs and Sports). In addition to them, Shasheendra Rajapaksa received appointment as State Minister of Paddy and Cereals, Organic Food, Vegetables, Fruits, Chillies, Onions and Potatoes, Seed Production and High Tech Agriculture. Chamal Rajapaksa, in addition to being the minister of irrigation, took oaths as State Minister for Internal Security, Home Affairs and Disaster Management. The former Speaker is the only one to hold both State and cabinet portfolios.
Cabinet Ministers
1. His Excellency President Gotabaya Rajapaksa – Defence
2. Hon. Mahinda Rajapaksa – Finance
3. Hon. Mahinda Rajapaksa – Buddha Sasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs
4. Hon. Mahinda Rajapaksa – Urban Development and Housing
5. Nimal Siripala De Silva – Labour
6. G.L Peiris – Education
7. Pavithradevi Wanniarachchi – Health
8. Dinesh Gunawardena – Foreign Relations
9. Douglas Devananda – Fisheries
10. Gamini Lokuge – Transport
11. Bandula Gunawardena – Trade
12. R.M.C.B. Rathnayake – Wildlife and Forest Conservation
13. Janaka Bandara Tennakoon – Public Services, Provincial Councils and Local Government
14. Keheliya Rambukwella – Mass Media
15. Chamal Rajapaksa – Irrigation
16. Dullas Alahapperuma – Power
17. Johnston Fernando – Highways
18. Wimal Weerawansa – Industries
19. Mahinda Amaraweera – Environment
20. S.M. Chandrasena – Land
21. Mahindananda Aluthgamage – Agriculture
22. Vasudeva Nanayakkara – Water Supply
23. Udaya Prabhath Gammanpila – Energy
24. Ramesh Pathirana – Plantation
25. Prasanna Ranatunga – Tourism
26. Rohitha Abeygunawardena – Ports and Shipping
27. Namal Rajapaksa – Youth and Sports Affairs
28. Ali Sabry – Justice
State Ministers
1. Chamal Rajapaksa – Internal Security, Home Affairs and Disaster Management
2. Piyankara Jayaratne – Foreign Employment Promotions and Market Diversification
3. Duminda Dissanayake – Solar, Wind, Grid Power Generation Projects Development
4. Dayasiri Jayasekara -Batik, Handloom Fabrics and Local Apparel Products
5. Lasantha Alagiyawanna – Cooperative Services, Marketing Development and Consumer Protection
6. Sudarshani Fernandopulle -Prisons Reforms and Prisoners’ Rehabilitation
7. Arundika Fernando – Coconut, Fishtail Palm, Palmyra and Rubber product Promotion and Allied Industrial Production and Export Diversification
8. Nimal Lansa – Rural Road and other Infrastructure Facilities
9. Jayantha Samaraweera – Warehouse Facilities, Container Yards, Port Supply Facilities and Boats and Shipping Industry Development
10. Roshan Ranasinghe – Land Management Affairs, State Business Lands and Property Development
11. Kanaka Herath – Company Establishment Reforms, Tea Estate Crops, Tea Factory Modernization and Tea Export Diversification
12. Vidura Wickramanayake – Promotion of National Heritage, Performing Arts and Rural Artists
13. Janaka Wakkumbura – Development of Sugarcane, Maize, Cashew, Pepper, Cinnamon, Cloves, Betel Production and Promotion of Allied Products and Export
14. Vijitha Berugoda – Dhamma Schools, Bhikku Education, Pirivenas and Buddhist Universities
15. Shehan Semasinghe – Development of Samurdhi Home Economy, Microfinance, Self-Employment and Businesses and Under-Utilized State Resources
16. Mohan de Silva – Regulation of Fertilizer Production and Supply, use of Chemical Fertilizers and Pesticides
17. Lohan Ratwatte – Gem and Jewelry related Industries
18. Dilum Amunugama – Vehicle Regulation, Bus Transport Services and Carriages and Automotive Industries
19. Wimalaweera Dissanayake – Wildlife Conservation Protection Programmes including Electric Fence and Ditch Construction and Re-Forestation and Wildlife Resources Development
20. Tharaka Balasooriya – Regional Cooperation
21. Indika Anurudda – Rural Home Construction and Building Materials Industry Promotion
22. Kanchana Wijesekera – Ornamental Fish, Freshwater Fish and Shrimp Farming Development, Multi-day Fishing and Fish Export
23. Sanath Nishantha – Development of Rural and Regional Drinking Water Supply Projects
24. Siripala Gamlath – Development of Common Infrastructure Facilities of Settlements and Canals in Mahaweli Zones
25. Sarath Weerasekara – Provincial Councils and Local Government Affairs
26. Anuradha Jayaratne – Development of Rural Paddy Fields and Associated Tanks, Reservoirs and Irrigation
27. Sadasivam Viyalendran – Professional Development of Postal Services and Mass Media
28. Thenuka Vidanagamage – Rural and School Sports Infrastructure Promotion
29. Sisira Jayakody – Promotion of Indigenous Medicine, Development of Rural Ayurvedic Hospitals and Community Health
30. Piyal Nishantha de Silva – Women and Child Development, Pre-School and Primary Education, School Infrastructure and School Services
31. Prasanna Ranaweera – Cane, Brass, Clay Furniture and Rural Industry Promotion
32. D. V. Chanaka – Development of Aviation and Export Zones
33. D. B. Herath – Livestock and Farm Promotion and Dairy and Eggs Related Industries
34. Shasheendra Rajapaksa – Paddy and Cereals, Organic Food, Vegetables, Fruits, Chilies, Onions and Potatoes, Seed Production and High Tech Agriculture
35. Nalaka Godahewa – Urban Development, Coast Conservation, Waste Disposal and Public Sanitation
36. Jeewan Thondaman – Estate Housing and Community Infrastructure Facilities
37. Ajith Nivard Cabraal – Finance and Capital Markets and Public Enterprise Reforms
38. Seetha Arambepola – Skills Development, Vocational Education, Research and Innovation
39. Channa Jayasumana – Pharmaceutical Production, Supply and Regulation
District Coordinating Committee Chairmen:
1. Pradeep Udugoda – Colombo
2. Sahan Pradeep Vithana – Gampaha
3. Sanjeewa Edirimanna – Kalutara
4. Wasantha Yapa Bandara -Kandy
5. N. Nalaka Bandara Kottegoda – Matale
6. S.B. Dissanayake – Nuwara Eliya
7. Sampath Athukorala – Galle
8. Nipuna Ranawaka -Matara
9. Upul Galappaththi -Hambantota
10. Angajan Ramanathan -Jaffna
11. Douglas Devananda -Kilinochchi
12. K. Dileepa – Vavuniya
13 K. Kader Masthan -Mannar and Mullaitivu
14. D. Weerasinghe – Ampara
15. Kapila Athukorala -Trincomalee
16 Gunapala Rathnasekara -Kurunegala
17. Ashoka Priyantha – Puttalam
18. H. Nandasena -Anuradhapura
19. Amarakeerthi Athukorala – Polonnaruwa
20. Sudarshana Denipitiya – Badulla
21. Kumarasiri Rathnayaka – Monaragala
22. Akila Ellawala – Ratnapura
23 Rajika Wickramasinghe – Kegalla
For a breakdown of election results visit – https://results.elections.gov.lk/
